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almost at the floor laughing. It was funny in a stupid way. What were they thinking showing up like that? I decided against joining them, and turned around to the bar instead. The crowd had spread out, and I got a beer straight away. Steven came standing next to me, dressed like James Bond. He studied photography at my school, and we belonged to the same lunch crowd. He had asked me out a couple of times in the beginning, but I never felt compelled to go out with him. He got the picture eventually, and moved on without a backward glance. Besides, he wasn’t a one-woman-guy. We remained friends, though, and I learned to take his flirty tone as a part of him. I liked him.
    Now, he was checking me out from head to toe.
    ‘Wow, Sara! I knew you had it in you.’ He winked at me. I blushed and felt naked again.
    ‘ Oh, this isn’t me. This is all Alice’s doing.’ I rest my back against the bar, trying to act casual.
    ‘ Hey, I’m not complaining.’ He got his beer and held it up for a toast.      
    ‘ So, what’s going on?’ I clink my bottle against his.
    ‘ Nothing much. I’m going back to Bristol in a couple of weeks. How about you?’
    ‘ I don’t know yet.’ I hadn’t meant to ask the future -question, but it seemed to be on everyone’s mind. ‘I meant, what’s going on tonight?’
    ‘ Tonight is going to be epic.’ he grinned. ‘I think Pocahontas is ready to give me a chance.’ He points at a girl standing twenty feet to our left. Even though she looked foreign with her bronzed skin and black hair, he didn’t mean it in a racist way; she was dressed in Indian costume.
    ‘ I know her, she’s from the Scenography studies with Alice, isn’t she?’ I had seen her a couple of times on school. ‘So you have moved on from the visual arts then?’ I added with a laugh.
    ‘ You are the only one left,’ he leaned in and whispered. I knew he was joking, and we both laughed.
    ‘ Well, you better run along then, before she escapes,’ I said and pushed him in her direction.
     
    When he left, my eyes flickered around the room. I tried to do it slowly, feeling the effect of alcohol in my body making me dizzy. I decided, as I reached the bottom of the bottle, that this was the last one tonight. The guy in the white suit was on the dance floor with Catwoman. Not a bad choice, I thought, but Matthew didn’t look so happy standing at the sideline. They were shaking and moving, owning the floor. It had to be warm in those clothes. Who would be so stupid as to wear a thick leather suit at a dance party? They had no way to drink or communicate with that big helmet. Maybe they were party crashers. It wasn’t likely, since everybody had to show an invitation before entering. This was a closed party hosted by Kiro. And Kiro seemed to know them. He was still helping the other guy with the beer. I didn’t understand why they kept the helmet on. Then it hit me, as I watched the one dancing give up and head back to the table. Kiro knew them, but they didn’t want anybody else to. I bet the one Kiro was helping was his brother Andrew. And I bet I knew who the other guy was. The way he stopped me at the dance floor, demanding to dance. Crashing a student party. He probably saw my invite on the board. He was looking in my direction now. I realized I was staring. Suddenly his arm raised, and gave a quick wave. I didn’t look around me to see if it was directed to someone else. Instead I turned around and ordered a new beer without thinking. My mind was focused on something else. Its stupid to imagine that he crashes a student party to see me . How stuck up am I? In your dreams, sweetie! But he was in my dreams. He had been in them every night since the exhibition. I could still close my eyes and imagine his lips o my skin. It might be him. Did I want it to be him? No. Yes. Shit, this is bad . And I was loosing my beer count.
     
    Alice walked up.
    ‘ Why are you standing here? Come and join us.’ She orders a